Agenda item

To consider the report of the Museums Manager and Cultural Lead – report circulated

Dom Jinks, Chair of the Exeter Cultural Partnership and Jay Milling, Deputy Chair will attend the meeting to present the report.

Councillor Denham  attended the meeting and spoke to the Scrutiny Committee under Standing Order 44.

The report of the Museums Manager and Cultural Lead on the new two year Cultural Action Plan produced by Exeter Cultural Partnership (ECP) in association with the City Council was submitted to Members. The Action Plan represented the next phase of work to be undertaken by the ECP Steering Group.

Jay Milling, Deputy Chair of the Exeter Cultural Partnership, also attended the meeting and presented the report. He hoped that the range of activities referred to in the Action Plan would develop and strengthen the cultural sector, placing culture at the heart of the city. He wanted Exeter to be seen as a culturally vibrant city, with a diverse ‘offer’ attracting more visitors staying longer and so delivering wider economic benefits to the city. The Plan was linked to the City Centre Strategy and there was a huge opportunity for stronger connections to be made between business and local cultural organisations.  The forthcoming Rugby World Cup would provide a focus on Exeter and a linked programme of wider cultural activity could provide the platform for building lasting community and business relationships.  This was an important development opportunity.  Culture also needed to be connected to the wellbeing agenda, driving quality of life and improved health outcomes, all of which contribute to the economic competitiveness of the City.

Members welcomed the Action Plan and made the following comments - 

·      Whether developing the Cultural Action Plan through the recent Arts Council/Visit England Cultural Destination Programme would mean less funds for local groups.  The Museums Manager explained that such national funding streams had in effect a ‘firewall’ between the individual funding programmes. There were elements of the Action Plan which could stand alone and could apply for other funding opportunities. 

·      There was appreciation that the Action Plan underscored culture’s critical role at the heart of the city, and whether the Exeter City Council logo could be included on each page of the Plan.  The Member also suggested that the career progression support outlined in the Plan should conclude with the aspiration of creating sustainable job opportunities for cultural practitioners.

Jay Milling reponded to a comment on the importance of involving the overall community by connecting cultural activity and volunteering to the Health and

Well-Being agendas.  ECP recognised that it was at the beginning of a journey and was reliant at this ‘start up’ stage on funds from public sources. However, as it developed it was hoped the need for this would diminish as other funding streams and connections were identified.

Councillor Denham referred to the need for ongoing support and engagement as the Action Plan was developed. Some of the activities could be progressed with the alignment of the art grants around the main goals in the Plan, but other areas will also be progressed by the City Council’s Economic and Development Team (for instance around the City Centre Strategy, City Tourism and Marketing Strategies, and Public Realm). It was important to grow the relationship with ECP and, through it, engagement with the wider cultural sector to ensure long term positive changes for the city. 

Scrutiny Committee – Economy supported the continuing work of the Exeter Cultural Partnership and requested that it and the Portfolio Holder for Economy and Culture be kept informed with at least an annual report of progress of the Action Plan, and requested Executive to approve:-

(1)        the proposed Action Plan and consider its adoption as the City Council’s framework document for planning, developing and supporting cultural activities in the city.

(Report circulated)